I T’S SAFE TO say that information governance (IG) has moved
on from its status as a healthcare buzzword to being understood by healthcare professionals at all levels—even if implementing actual IG initiatives still remains somewhat out of
reach for some organizations. That’s according to the results of
the third annual IG survey conducted by AHIMA and its partner, Immersive. The survey, conducted in July and August of
2017, sought to capture the current state of information governance in healthcare and gain an understanding of IG projects
that organizations are undertaking.

The publication of the AHIMA white paper “The Pulse
on Information Governance in Healthcare”—set to be released in early 2018—aims to summarize the survey’s complete findings. The results offer a verifiable “pulse check”
on where healthcare stands with IG—a report card that
AHIMA and health information management (HIM) professionals can use to create awareness for IG in more targeted
communications.

The IG survey showcases key recommendations for organi-zations seeking to transform their use of data and informa-tion through IG. Conducted with more than 1,500 healthcareprofessionals, the survey found that 53 percent of respondentssaid they have IG practices in place or recognize the need forIG. Also, 14 percent of respondents have initiated an organiza-tion-wide IG program, and 18 percent have IG-related projectsunderway. The survey determined recommendations for or-ganizations looking to implement an IG program. The surveywasn’t limited to HIM professionals; it also solicited responsesfrom chief medical information officers, CEOs, IT profession-als, and security professionals.

In addition to providing a general look at IG adoption in the
healthcare industry, the survey will also help AHIMA better
plan its own IG initiatives, products, and service offerings to
advance IG.

“The survey will help us know how to focus our education
and awareness efforts,” says Kathy Downing, MA, RHIA, CHP,
PMP, AHIMA’s vice president of informatics, IG, standards,
privacy and security. “When we see which IG competency areas people are more knowledgeable in and which [competency
areas] they need the most assistance with, that helps AHIMA
customize the [IG] Boot Camp content, Road to Governance
(Journal of AHIMA) articles, and Practice Briefs that the practice council group is working on.”

Awareness and Adoption of Information GovernanceWhen kicking off the process of adopting an IG program, oneof the foremost metaphors used to illustrate the concept is thatof a road map. To stretch that metaphor a little further, the re-cent survey results represent a giant “You Are Here” flag.One of the primary conclusions of the 2017 IG white paperis that while there is increasing recognition of IG as an initia-tive in healthcare, the “current level of IG adoption at above
30 percent is not where it should be, given the importance ofinformation in the industry,” states the forthcoming IG whiteNEW AHIMA STUDY MEASURES IG ADOPTION RATES